Income Support

If you’re on income support or any other type of benefit, we’re keen to help you manage your money.

Whether that’s day-to-day budgeting, or making sure you have a little put aside for celebrations or unexpected items.

Child Benefit

If you have your Child Benefit paid directly into your Credit Union account, you’re eligible to take out a Family Loan

Budgeting Accounts

If you have your benefit paid into your account, with your agreement we’ll put aside certain amounts for regular bills such as your rent. You won’t be able to spend this money and we’ll make sure that money is paid directly.

Remaining funds can be transferred to an account of your choice or paid into one of the card accounts that we can set up for you.

As you’d probably expected, we’ll encourage you to save some of those remaining funds – just £5 a month will slowly build up.

Universal Credit

Universal Credit is a new type of benefit designed to support people who are on a low income or out of work. It will replace six existing benefits with one payment and is currently being rolled out across the UK including the London Boroughs of Croydon, Merton and Sutton.

The new system is based on a single monthly payment, transferred directly into a bank account. At present Universal Credit only affects newly unemployed people in certain areas of the country.

What is Universal Credit?

Universal Credit is a single monthly payment for people in or out of work, which merges together some of the benefits and tax credits that you might be getting now.

Universal Credit will replace:

Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

Income Support

Child Tax Credit

Working Tax Credit

Housing Benefit

What you need to know about Universal Credit

Universal Credit introduces many changes to state benefits, including how it is paid:

It will be paid monthly into a bank account of your choice

If you get help with your rent, this will be included in your monthly payment – you’ll then pay your landlord directly

If you live with your partner and you are both eligible, you will get one monthly joint payment

It can take several weeks after you make your claim to get your first payment

Find out more?

You can find out much more about Universal Credit including working and claiming Universal Credit, when it starts and how to get ready for Universal Credit at the Money Advice Service.

HowCroydon Merton & Sutton Credit Union can help?

At Croydon Merton & Sutton Credit Union we’re developing an account that allows you to pay in your Universal Credit directly and then set up automatic payments for the bills you have to pay. You can then transfer the remainder for daily and weekly items like food shopping, save a little bit if you can manage it and the remainder will be transferred to an account of your choice, or one of the card accounts we can help you set up.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS can pay compensation to depositors if a credit union is unable to meet its financial obligations. Most depositors – including most individuals and small businesses – are covered by the scheme.
In respect of deposits, an eligible depositor is entitled to claim up to £85,000. For joint accounts each account holder is treated as having a claim in respect of their share so, for a joint account held by two eligible depositors, the maximum amount that could be claimed would be £85,000 each (making a total of £170,000). The £85,000 limit relates to the combined amount in all the eligible depositor’s accounts with the credit union, including their share of any joint account, and not to each separate account. For further information about the scheme (including the amounts covered and eligibility to claim) please ask at your local branch, refer to the FSCS websites, watch the FSCS Your Savings Are Protected film or call 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100.